


“No one has a heart of stone.”

by markonasurface (idwir)



Series: 50 Quote Prompts [21]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, M/M, Not A Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:00:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25754743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idwir/pseuds/markonasurface
Summary: Andrew and Renee fight.
Relationships: Andrew Minyard & Renee Walker, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Series: 50 Quote Prompts [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1005666
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	“No one has a heart of stone.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this three years ago and just read it for the first time since. I totally forgot the plot.

He can’t believe she bested him with a chair. Again.

Grabbing the legs of the chair, he shoves her back. She doesn’t give much ground but it’s enough and he slips away from the wall.

With a foot, she drags his knife away from him and behind her, still holding the chair out between them. He throws himself at her anyway.

She doesn’t move the chair up fast enough and is forced to drop it as her head cracks against the tiles. Andrew straddles her torso. He forces both of her hands to her sides and his thighs squeeze tight.

When he looks away from her face to grab his knife, she is able to dislodge him and she scrambles on top of him. One hand is pressed to his side, the other is above his head, clasping his knife.

She meets his eyes and sees the moment they harden. He pinches the inside of her thigh but she doesn’t flinch. Instead she squeezes harder. His eyes are angry but she refuses to look away.

Easily, she plucks the knife from his grasp.

“Andrew.”

“Shut up, Renee.”

* * *

He shoves her off of him and she lets him. He stands and walks around the counter and props himself up on the sink, sliding the window open. They both ignore the slight tremble of his fingers as he struggles to get a cigarette lit.

They sit in silence as he burns through three cigarettes and she cleans her bloody nose.

Renee’s phone buzzes and she slides off of the counter to answer. Her voice is quiet. “Emilio?” She knows Andrew is listening even though he pretends not to.

When she hangs up, Andrew says, “So he finally got over his fear of Jean.”

“He wasn’t scared of Jean,” Renee comments softly. She almost teases, “He was more scared of you than Jean.”

“The Moriyamas.” Andrew shrugs but she sees how stiff he’s become.

Renee decides this is her opening. “How is he?”

Andrew takes a long drag off his stick and holds it for a moment. He exhales. Years had slowly started putting bits of expression into Andrew’s tone but now he spoke with the detached, emotionless voice the others believed was the only other thing he was capable of besides anger. “The doctor sent Kevin to talk to me about taking him off of life support yesterday.”

“Why?”

“He coded a couple of weeks ago. When Nicky found out, he made Kevin tell me.”

Renee purses her lips. “He should’ve told you.”

“Why?” Andrew drops the cigarette butt at his feet in the sink and lights another. “Kevin told them no. I would have told them yes.”

“Because you were angry at him?”

“Renee,” Andrew sighs. “Stop asking questions you already know the answer to.”

Renee tucks a strand of brown hair behind her ear. “Why would you have said yes? You weren’t mad at him. You were mad at yourself, right?”

The look he gives her is a warning but she tells him, “I’m not so sure I know the answer to these questions. Were you mad at yourself? If you were - are - it wasn’t your fault. Neil made deals for himself, Kevin, Jean. That made them all Moriyama assets. No one could have known Ichirou’s enemies would try to take them out simply because they give him money. You had no way of knowing that ten years later so -”

She’s cut off when Andrew slams a fist into the hard glass of the window. He doesn’t stop until it’s cracked and blood drips down, catching in the sharp webbing. He breathes hard, hand falling limply into his lap.

“Let’s go.” She stands and starts for the door, not waiting to see if Andrew would follow. Pulling on her coat in the hall she tells Andrew, “Call us a cab.”

* * *

When they step outside ten minutes later, Renee isn’t surprised to find reporters. Andrew shoves the bloody mess of his hand into his coat pocket and fixes them with an empty gaze.

“Mr. Minyard! Can you tell us about Mr. Josten’s condition?”

“Mr. Minyard! There are rumors saying you’re making preparations for a burial by the end of the week. Care to comment?”

“Our condolences.”

“Every time you’ve been spotted, you look like you couldn’t care less! Your husband is on life support. Any reason you seem so unaffected?”

Renee notices that she has three missed calls and a voice message at the same time Andrew’s phone starts vibrating in his hand. They both hold their phones to their ear and the reporters quiet down, probably hoping to hear something.

In her peripheral vision she sees the yellow of the taxi pulling up to the curb but she keeps her eyes on Andrew’s face. They both know how to keep neutral expressions.

At first Nicky’s voice is in her ear, panicky. “Renee! Please answer! Neil’s crashing! They brought him back this morning but - oh, god. It’s happening again and it’s been ten minutes - fuck, Renee!”

“Renee.” Kevin’s voice is quiet and she thinks he’s crying. “He’s gone. Fuck, please tell me you’re with Andrew. He’s just -” His sobs are muffled and she absently thinks he pulled the phone away but she can’t worry about Kevin because she sees the look in Andrew’s eyes. She sees the moment whoever is on the other end of the line tells him.

A flash of light reminds Renee where they are. She bites the inside of her cheek until she tastes blood, her hand falling to her side.

“Andrew?” He almost looks like a deer caught in headlights and to anyone else it might be disorienting but to Renee it is just sad. She doesn’t know if he’s breathing.

“Who was it?” A reporter calls.

“Is Mr. Josten okay?”

“What’s going on?”

Andrew’s bloody fist connects with a jaw and Renee doesn’t hesitate to grab his other hand. There’s screaming.

Renee pulls Andrew through the small crowd toward the taxi.

“Don’t touch me!” he yells.

“You’re crazy!” The man holding his bruised jaw is following them. “We just wanted to know how your husband is doing and you react so violently because of that!”

Renee stops, whirls around and pushes Andrew behind her. He’s still struggling to get out of her grip but it doesn’t phase her. She scowls at the reporter, then looks around at the rest.

“No one has a heart of stone.”

“He’s still crazy. Most of us came bringing condolences and hoping to hear some good news. He didn’t need to hit me.”

Renee steps forward and swings her free hand upward. It knocks the same reporter down and she glares, a tear rolling down her cheek. “He’s dead, you asshole. Fuck off, all of you.”

She pushes Andrew into the cab, letting go as soon as she shuts the door behind her. “Hospital, please.”


End file.
